tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13377509993703527332026-03-27T06:30:38.938-04:00frugal travel. tips. tricks. trips.Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.comBlogger713125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-24130954378666299202025-12-25T07:00:00.002-05:002025-12-25T07:00:00.115-05:00

Happy Christmas! I'm so delinquent in posting about Italy. We were there in late October so it's a two month lapse. I was ill when we returned so I wasn't v. motivated and then I just got lazy. But then J gifted me a new MacBook Pro for Christmas so I ran out of excuses.We flew into Milan and used that as somewhat of a home base. The first half of the trip was spent in Alba, where we enjoyed time

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-76577522645326734762025-07-11T07:00:00.089-04:002025-07-11T07:00:00.119-04:00

So I've been to Iceland before (via Icelandair, where we took advantage of their "layover" concept) but that was in the winter with the northern lights. This time it was all about midnight sun and we were there for the summer solstice so it was genuinely a long ass day.Because we were only spending 4 days on the island, we opted to rent a camper van. We had one thing that was scheduled and

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-7596721681120842642025-07-09T07:00:00.053-04:002025-07-09T07:00:00.117-04:00

J and I ventured out to Scotland in June. We booked through Icelandair and did the stopover thing in Reykjavik with the "main" destination being to Glasgow. We flew in, rented a car, drove immediately to Edinburgh, tried to stave off jetlag by walking around, and had a delicious dinner at Timberyard. The next morning, we spent a bit of time exploring the city before hopping in the rental and

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-55125483515222879282025-05-29T07:00:00.184-04:002025-07-21T19:41:33.395-04:00

Last month, J and I went on a semi-impromptu trip to Vegas. We booked and planned everything two weeks before our departure and everything worked out really well. We spent a few days in Vegas, then we rented a car and ventured off to a few national parks (Bryce Canyon and Zion) and then we headed back towards Vegas but detoured to Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, stopped by Grand Canyon West, and

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-29903348612284655922024-11-26T07:00:00.115-05:002024-11-26T07:00:00.128-05:00

I've been to London loads of times so this quick trip was mostly just to wander around town. Actually, the main goal of this trip was to go to Core by Clare Smyth, our three-Michelin star restaurant of the trip. I had managed to snag a reservation for their second seating at 21:30 but then shortly after they called to confirm the reservation (a few days before), I happened to be checking the

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-73692543926391365962024-11-25T07:00:00.121-05:002024-11-25T07:00:00.238-05:00

Earlier this year, I read All The Light We Cannot See (mainly because I wanted to watch the Netflix series and I can't not read the book first) and that book introduced me to the city of Saint Malo. So when we were planning our France trip and trying to figure out how to get to Mont Saint Michel and looking for other areas nearby to explore, Saint Malo became an obvious option.It turned out

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-4843684272406006532024-11-22T07:30:00.215-05:002024-11-22T07:30:00.123-05:00

In Caen, we picked up a rental car to drive to Mont Saint Michel. We stopped by the Normandy American Cemetery on the way there, which was a really amazing experience. We saw Omaha Beach and admired all of the memorials. In third grade, my teacher, Mrs. Craig, read aloud to us from several books and it was one of my favorite experience of all time, which likely informed my love of reading. One of

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-83773034531258728882024-11-21T07:30:00.115-05:002024-11-21T07:30:00.124-05:00

We took a train from Paris to Caen. It was just a couple of hours and a comfortable ride. How did we choose to go to Caen? Well, it was a convenient train ride that required no transfers and it got us into the Normandy region, which was a goal because we wanted to ultimately make it to Mont Saint Michel. Though I wouldn't say that Caen was all that amazing, it was a cute city with just enough to

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-47805842700214027072024-11-20T07:00:00.542-05:002024-11-20T07:00:00.126-05:00

After five long years, I finally made it back to Europe. J and I flew to Paris and spent some time in Normandy and Brittany and even went to London for a day via the Eurostar. It was a bit of a whirlwind but it was so much fun and I was so blissfully happy to just walk around enjoying the architecture and eating delicious food and spending time with my love in such a romantic setting.After we

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-52305348890903585592024-07-16T07:00:00.154-04:002024-07-16T07:00:00.333-04:00

So we left Jasper on Wednesday and then continued our way south, transitioning from the Icefields Parkway to the Trans-Canada highway for just a bit before making our way to Lake Louise. The rest of the trip was spent in Banff National Park, which was more crowded, but probably because they have some of the prettiest and bluest lakes ever.Our itinerary in Banff was as follows:Wednesday: Our first

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-90917600615460642692024-07-15T11:35:00.002-04:002024-07-15T11:35:50.114-04:00

A few weeks ago, J and I flew up to Alberta to explore the Canadian Rockies for a week. We split our time between Jasper and Banff and tried to squeeze in enough to make it feel like we were really getting a good flavor of all of the different types of activities on offer while still having it feel like a vacation.We flew up on Saturday afternoon and arrived in the early evening. We checked into

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-9394345088487467902023-12-26T07:30:00.219-05:002023-12-26T07:30:00.157-05:00

This year for our winter break, J and I chose to go to Dominica (not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, which is where we went last year). Dominica is known as the nature island, which was immediately appealing to the both of us. We stayed at Secret Bay, which was pricey but worth it, and I highly recommend visiting this island (and hotel) if you get the chance.There are no direct

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-12413515355686630362023-10-16T20:25:00.005-04:002023-10-16T20:25:23.335-04:00

Last weekend, J and I drove down to Belmar to go whale watching. We went with Jersey Shore Whale Watch, which guarantees you'll see a whale or they'll comp you a free trip. We were aboard the Jersey Girl, which was a really smooth ride; I don't think I even needed my Dramamine. We were out at sea for a few hours and hadn't seen a thing and we were on our way back when the captain got radioed by

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-38329118957628981532023-07-17T06:00:00.326-04:002023-07-17T06:00:00.141-04:00

J is from Michigan and wanted to show me his old digs so he planned a weeklong trip to Michigan for us to enjoy. Our vacation kicked off with several flight delays that resulted in us missing our connecting flight and some misplaced luggage, but we regrouped and ended up driving to the UP from Chicago and J's checked luggage eventually made its way to us up in Hancock.It was a lot of travel time,

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-50045126293541207672023-06-26T07:48:00.031-04:002023-10-16T20:12:03.940-04:00

I just realized I never posted about my trip to Shenandoah earlier this year. I went in May over Memorial Day weekend. J and I camped (we were at Big Meadows, Site 001). It was kind of a challenge to get a campsite (as soon as they opened for booking, they were all immediately snatched up) so I ended up gaming the system a little and it all worked out.I'm just sharing a few snapshots from the

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-62199100583294212452023-06-26T07:00:00.130-04:002023-06-26T07:00:00.162-04:00

We flew into Japan for just a day before we headed back home. We weren't there for long but we managed to jam in a few fun activities and some delicious food. Since my sis and I had already been there before (technically twice) we just hit up a few of our favorite spots mostly within the neighborhood near our hotel, with a little bit of venturing out.To be honest, Tokyo is not my favorite, but

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-20126377644581584182023-06-19T07:00:00.230-04:002023-06-19T07:00:00.143-04:00

Our time in Koh Samui was great. The last time I was there, it was way too brief and we barely left the hotel so I wanted to take this chance to explore more of the island.So this time around, we rented a car and ended up doing a loop around the whole place. We also did a little bit of jewelry shopping, got Hainanese chicken a few times, and also indulged in a few spa sessions.We stayed at the

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-90436680262465575892023-06-13T07:00:00.072-04:002023-06-13T07:00:00.140-04:00

Our last day in Korea was spent in Seoul. My aunt and uncle dropped us off at our hotel in Myeongdong and then we packed our day with a few touristy things before we had to head off to Thailand. It was bittersweet having to say bye to my family, but I was excited to eat in Seoul. I had made a bucket list of food and there were still a handful of items to check off.In terms of sightseeing, having

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-7966507014326750842023-06-12T07:00:00.236-04:002023-06-12T07:00:00.145-04:00

In April, I went to Asia for a couple of weeks. We flew into Tokyo (so that we could fly out of Newark instead of schlepping it to Queens) and then immediately flew over to Seoul. My aunt and uncle picked us up and drove us to their newly built countryside home in Yangpyeong. We settled in and showered and then ate sullungtang (bone broth) with kimchi before tucking into bed.Yangpyeong is in

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-85795622246411009712023-01-02T06:00:00.263-05:002023-01-05T14:12:39.028-05:00

The week before Christmas, J and I flew to the Dominican Republic to spend a week at an all-inclusive resort. We stayed at the Excellence Punta Cana, in Playas Uvero Alto, a town about 40 minutes west of Punta Cana. It was an adults only resort, which made it extra enjoyable for us, as the plane ride down was full of crying babies.It was my first time doing a vacation of this style. Typically,

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-18884790157690975942022-11-29T06:30:00.000-05:002022-11-29T06:30:00.224-05:00

On our final morning in Gatlinburg, we lazed around in bed until we had to check out so we could milk every second of our Airbnb rental period. Then we hit the road and headed back west towards Nashville. We stopped at Aubrey's for brunch, where we both immensely enjoyed the tomato bisque.The drive back was easy and we didn't hit any traffic.For our last night of vacation, we stayed at

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-57022225682066044232022-11-28T06:35:00.204-05:002024-09-26T13:48:16.859-04:00

Just before the Thanksgiving break, I flew into Nashville and spent a few days between the city and Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was a whirlwind trip but it felt pretty chock full because it was so beautiful and fun.J and I flew down on Friday night, checked into our hotel and immediately headed out for cocktails.We stayed at The Gallatin, which J picked on a whim for how quirky and

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-71965848453351639452022-11-14T06:28:00.259-05:002022-11-16T13:18:22.515-05:00

A couple weekends ago, J and I drove up to Fleischmanns, New York to stay at a cute little cabin rental (via Red Cottage Inc.). Though we were past peak foliage, it was still really pretty and we had a great time. We had some great dinners at Brushland Eating House and Peekamoose and a great breakfast at Cafe Marguerite. We went on a fun hike at Giant Ledge and on our way home, we

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-29309650930292297502022-11-08T06:37:00.022-05:002022-11-08T06:37:00.229-05:00

For my sister's birthday weekend this year, we went to Florida for a long weekend. We had booked a trip to Fort Lauderdale to get delicious Vietnamese food back in March 2020 and had to cancel it due to the pandemic. Rescheduling that trip was long overdue and I'm glad we got to go. We went to our favorite eatery, Pho 79, twice and stayed at the lovely Westin which had a lovely spa and

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337750999370352733.post-44292332252872565682022-09-12T06:28:00.284-04:002022-09-12T06:28:00.219-04:00

A couple weekends ago, J and I drove up to Mont Tremblant for his friend's sister's wedding. It was a long haul so we broke it up on the way up. We started the trip north after work on Thursday, stopping in Albany for dinner before parking it in Lake George for the night. On Friday, we headed up to Montreal and stopped for a sandwich at Schwartz's Deli (at my insistence) and then made our way to

Rach Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03574378941048592822noreply@blogger.com0